


Sweet Sugar

by CrashHale



Series: Riverdale Bingo Summer 2020 Submissions [11]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Happy Ending, Mild Smut, Older Man/Younger Woman, Sugar Daddy, sugar relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26407312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrashHale/pseuds/CrashHale
Summary: Betty meets Jughead by chance. He's perfect and she loves spending time with him. The only problem is, he's still in love with his soon to be ex wife, and what he wants from Betty is a less than conventional relationship. After some thought, she agrees to his proposal, she could really use the money and she does like him a lot. All she has to make sure she doesn't do, is fall in love with him.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Cheryl Blossom/Jughead Jones (mentioned and past)
Series: Riverdale Bingo Summer 2020 Submissions [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1837360
Comments: 93
Kudos: 176
Collections: Riverdale Bingo Summer 2020





	1. PART 1: Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is another addition to my Riverdale Summer 2020 Bingo Card - Sugar Daddy (take two) - I know I already wrote a prompt for this but I felt like writing another one.
> 
> PART 1 is a two chapter take on Betty's version of events. Both chapters are written.  
> PART 2 I was thinking I might write in Jughead POV, to fill in some of his thoughts throughout part 1.  
> PART 3 I am planning on doing maybe one or two chapters about where their relationship goes after the events of parts 1 and 2.
> 
> Full disclaimer, this is based on the graphic novel Sugar, and some stuff I even took word for word. I give the author and artist full credit.

Sometimes Betty feels like she’s in a vicious circle. All she does is work, and go to classes, and study, and _work_ , and stress. She never has enough money for anything. She pays her rent first, a tiny apartment she shares with her roommate Toni. Her mom, who’s back home taking care of Polly’s twins, asks for money way more often than Betty can spare it, but she can never bring herself to say no. So she takes on more shifts, so she can eat, and catches up on sleep when she can. 

She should be sleeping now, instead of sitting in front of the television watching trash. Everyone on whatever program is on is in love and they have perfect lives, no money problems whatsoever. She wishes her life was a movie. 

As she closes her eyes, she imagines someone is there with her, taking care of her if only for a night. It’s been so long since she had sex, or even since she took care of _things_ herself. 

Before Toni gets back, Betty manages to get herself to her room, relieving some stress and thankfully falling asleep. 

It helps her later, during her early shift at the diner. She refills coffees and offers smiles to her customers. The diner doesn’t pay as well as the bar does, but she takes whatever she can get. 

She bites her lip as she approaches one of her semi regulars. He’s a good looking guy, maybe in his late thirties. He’s got a full head of dark hair and lovely stormy blue eyes. They never talk much, but today he seems really down, his hand pulling at his hair as he does something on his phone. 

“You doing okay?” she asks, hoping she isn’t bothering him. 

She begins to refill his coffee as he looks up at her, as if surprised by her being there. 

“Just a shit morning, I’m afraid,” he says. 

She gives him a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry to hear that. Sometimes it helps to tell a stranger,” she offers. 

He seems to consider it, then narrows his eyes and signs in defeat. “Relationship trouble… or lack thereof, I should say,”

She nods. “I know how that goes,”

It seems to put him at ease somehow. He sits back and looks at her as if he’s actually seeing her now. “You have a real bar tender vibe right now,”

She laughs. “I work over at The Vixen at night, so I guess you could say I’m a professional,” she shrugs. 

She hears one of her other tables calling her so she excuses herself and gets back to work. 

Before he leaves, he thanks her for the chat and she goes to clear his table. He’s left a fifty percent tip, which she really appreciates, but she hopes it hasn’t hurt his wallet. 

She deposits her tips on the way to class that afternoon, happy to get her account over $100 for the first time in a few days. 

By the time she gets home though, her mom has already texted and asked for more cash. She’s just happy she said yes to the extra shift at the bar tonight. 

The Vixen is a good place to work. It’s a high class bar and she makes good money on tips. Malachi, the owner, is pretty lax, as long as the girls are _friendly_ (flirty) with the customers and keep the alcohol flowing. The only thing that sucks is that he sometimes gets a little handsy. 

She’s busy as always, and when she goes to serve the new man that’s approached the bar, she can’t help but smile in surprise, seeing it’s her customer from this morning at the diner. 

“Hi!” she says enthusiastically. He’s even more handsome in the lowlights of the bar and he doesn’t seem as down as he was this morning. “You’re looking better this evening,”

He smirks and shrugs. “Oddly enough I was at a club down the street with a friend and remembered you mentioned this place. Betty, right?”

She nods and extends her hand to shake his. He must have seen her name on his bill this morning, or even her name tag at the diner.

“I’m Jughead,”

“It’s nice to meet you,” she says, handing him a shot and getting one for herself. 

They take their shots and smile at each other. She doesn’t often drink on the job, even though it’s allowed. 

“I think we definitely need another one of those, don’t you?” 

She laughs as she pours them two more and clinks glasses with him. She drinks and thinks she’s probably at her limit. She’s never been good with handling her liquor. 

“So, why aren’t you still with your friend at the other club?”

He tells her all about how his divorce papers were signed this morning, a ten year marriage over, and how his work partner had dragged him to a party to meet “sugar babies”. 

She isn’t too familiar with sugar relationships, and she finds the whole thing a little strange. Not the age difference. He's a very handsome man and she sees the appeal of dating someone who's experienced, but being paid to date someone, that she does find strange. 

“Everything okay here?” Malachi asks, catching her off guard as he comes in behind her.

“Of course,” she says. She hasn’t been neglecting other customers, still serving people between her talk with Jughead. “Just about to share another drink with our new customer here,”

“That’s my girl,” Malachi says, slapping her ass and making her face go red in embarrassment and shame. She hates that she has to put up with this, and she hates that Jughead just saw it too.

What happens next is a bit of a blur. As Jughead begins to defend her honor, Malachi is kicking him out, and one of the bouncers comes over to take him away. 

Feeling like she owes it to him, she follows, in that moment not caring if she loses her job. She knows it’s stupud, but it feels so good while she’s doing it, like she’s finally taking a stand.

She and Jughead walk a few buildings over in silence before stopping to face each other.

“I like that you came after me, but you should go back if you don’t want to lose your job,”

“It was really nice of you, standing up for me like that. I’ve never had anyone do that for me before,” she admits, wanting something for herself for a change. 

“I didn’t like him touching you like that,”

“I don’t like it either,” she says, going quiet. She knows she deserves better than to get harassed at work, but none of the other girls complain and it makes her feel like she’s the one in the wrong if she says anything.

“Can I escort you home?” he asks.

She nods and she really hopes that when they get there she’ll work up the courage to ask him up. He’s a gentleman, so she hopes he’s not against sleeping with someone he pretty much just met on the same day.

Turns out, it’s pretty simple. All she has to say is a few simple words, and before she knows it, they’re up in her apartment, desperately taking each others clothes off, and she hardly has a minute to check out how hot he really is, before he’s fucking her hard into the couch. 

She comes and feels kind of delusional, laughing and out of breath as he continues. So this is what good sex is, she thinks to herself. She’s heard her friends talk about crazy nights they had and she’s pretty sure this is her first.

Before the night is over, he’s squeezed so much pleasure out of her, the two of them switching positions all over the couch, that as soon as they’re done, she closes her eyes and passes out.

When she wakes up, he’s not there, the whole apartment quiet. Her head hurts a little but she remembers the night perfectly. He was better than anyone else she’s been with, not that she has too much to compare it to, but still beyond amazing.

There’s a blanket laid over her and she frowns as she spots a note and hundred dollar bills on the coffee table before her. There’s five of them, along with his number. 

Her stomach churns, but she wraps the blanket around herself and grabs her phone off the counter where she left it. 

She puts in his number, feeling quite disgusting for a moment.

_I’m not a hooker,_ she writes.

_Is this Betty?_

_Yes, unless you paid someone else to have sex with you last night._ She feels like she’s seeing red.

_I’m sorry. I know you’re not a hooker. I just figured you could use the money. I know I was broke back when I was in college._

_Do you have any idea how this makes me feel?_ she asks, sitting back on the couch and biting her lip. She thought they were having a good time, not that she was acting as one of those “sugar babies” he’d told her about.

Her phone vibrates with another text.

_Let me make it up to you? Have dinner with me Friday?_

She bites her lip harder. It’s not like she still has her shift at the bar. Plus she wants to give him his money back. 

_Okay._

In a weird way, Betty doesn’t want to have fun and enjoy their night. She wants to tell herself that he’s just another jerk, but as the night goes on, she sees that that’s really not the case. He’s wonderful.

She feels like she’s talked all night. She’s told him about her family, Polly who’s in rehab for the third time, and her mother who's taking care of twin toddlers when she should be enjoying her fifties.

She’s told him about her classes and how she’s a little late to college, having worked a few years to save up, calculating all her expenses and yet still coming up short.

“You’re a great listener,” she smiles over the candlelight. “I’m sorry, I promise I usually don’t talk this much,”

“It’s okay,” he smiles kindly. “I like listening to you,”

“What about you? Tell me something about yourself,”

She doesn’t let her smile fade as he tells her about how this is the first date he’s been on since he and his wife split up. He tells her how she was the one who cheated, but it wasn’t all her fault. He was busy setting up his company, then working all the time, and maybe he didn’t pay her enough attention.

“You’re still in love with her, aren’t you?” she asks. It’s clear as day. 

She feels kind of bad for him. He’s obviously a great guy, and sex with him had been incredible. His soon to be ex wife seems crazy to her, but she’s never been in a ten year relationship, let alone marriage, so she can’t have a real opinion on the matter.

“I am,” he replies, and she’s glad for the honesty. “I’m sorry if I’m wasting your time,”

She shakes her head and takes a sip of her drink. “I’m having a good time, and it’s just dinner,”

“I’m having a good time too,” he says. “Thank you for listening. I know it’s an unconventional first date,”

She laughs lightly. She can tell he’s holding a lot of guilt for what happened with his ex, and that he’s heartbroken. “You shouldn’t blame yourself so much. Take what you learned and apply it to your next relationship,”

He looks at her in a way that makes her wonder what he’s thinking. She smiles under his gaze and asks, “What?”

“You’re amazing, you know that?”

She laughs. “Or I’ve just seen my sister go through way too many bad relationships,”

From there, they talk about lighter topics. He tells her a little about his company and they talk about movies. He cuts movie trailers so he often has screener passes to private showings. He asks her to one later that month and she’s just glad he sees their relationship through more than tonight.

They end up at his place that night. It’s dark and she’s too busy sucking his face to look around, but she can tell it’s big.

He goes down on her and she thinks it’s absolutely the best she’s ever felt. They aren’t as fast and desperate as they were their first night, and it’s nice taking their time, getting to touch him all over, _being_ touched.

The two nights she’s spent with him so far make her want to do it again and again.

When she wakes up alone in his bed the next morning, she really wants to do it again, right now.

“Jughead?” she calls his name, hearing noise from somewhere in the apartment.

She grabs his shirt off the floor and puts it on, walking through the hallway towards the sound. She frowns as she looks at the photos of him and his wife still up on the walls. She’s gorgeous, a redhead beauty. Betty wonders if she modeled, she wouldn’t be surprised.

She smiles when she sees Jughead cooking in the kitchen. He really is the perfect guy.

“Good morning,” she says happily, coming to hug him from behind. The eggs he’s making look heavenly.

“Take a seat, I’m going to feed you the best breakfast you’ve ever had,”

She laughs lightly and takes a seat at the table, where he’s already set out the orange juice and coffee.

He brings their plates over when he’s done and she compliments him on how good it looks.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” he says as he sits opposite her. “Anything,”

“You and your wife have been separated for awhile now, right?”

He nods.

“You have a lot of pictures up of her still,” she points out softly. “I know you can’t help how you feel, but if I’m just a hookup, I want to know. If you’re trying to get back together with her-”

He shakes his head. “The divorce is pretty much final,” he says. “I don’t want to get back together with her. You’re right, I should take the pictures down,”

“Do you know what you want though? With me, I mean?” she asks, taking a sip of coffee and looking down at her untouched food.

He sighs and runs a hand through his messy morning hair. “I’m still working that out, I’m sorry,”

She shrugs. She can’t ask someone to have their life figured out when she doesn’t have her own figured out either.

“I do want to see you though,” he says, offering a smile and extending his hand to her.

She takes it and thinks he’s sweet. She doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into but she knows the time she has spent with him has been incredible so far. She really likes him. 

“I was hoping you’d be up for discussing an arrangement this morning,”

She pulls her hand away as she realizes he’s still talking about this sugar relationship thing. 

“I want to be in a monogamous relationship with you, but I want to pay you three thousand dollars a month. You go to classes and study, and then spend your weekends with me,”

She hates how this makes her feel. She doesn’t want to be someone’s property. “I told you, I’m not a hooker,”

“Of course you’re not,”

“Then why can’t this just be a regular relationship? Why do you want to _pay_ me?”

He takes a deep breath. “I guess I want to make sure you’re taken care of. Whenever you don’t want to be with me anymore, you just say the word. You won’t be locked into some kind of contract or anything,”

She hates this. She wants to spend time with him, but not like this.

“Please, Betty, just think about it, okay?”

Leaving her food untouched still, she asks him to leave her alone while she goes and gets dressed, then leaves without saying goodbye. She leaves the five hundred dollars on his dresser, she doesn’t want it.

By the time she’s home, she’s crying. She feels so dirty and so stupid. 

Toni is quick to wrap her up in a hug. She makes her some coffee and they settle in on the couch for Betty to fill her in on everything. She needs her advice. She has no idea what to do.

“Let me get this straight,” Toni says, “He’s hot, he’s rich, he’s nice, you like him, he’s good in bed, he’s sweet to you… and he wants to pay you to be his girlfriend? What’s so bad about that?”

Betty wipes her cheeks. “Doesn’t that kind of make me a hooker? I’ll be sleeping with him for money,”

Toni shakes her head. “You’ll only be having sex with one guy, and technically he’ll be your boyfriend… This is a win win in my books. You’ll be able to help your mom with the twins more and you can focus on classes without having to worry about work and money all the time… The only thing you have to make sure you don’t do, is fall in love with him,”

Betty bites her lip. She’s never been good at keeping her feelings in check, especially when it comes to someone she’s sleeping with, but now that she’s talked to Toni, the whole arrangement is starting to sound more appealing. It would be nice not to have to worry about money for once, and she does want to see him again. 

Jughead texts her a few times over the next couple of days. A sweet one saying he’s thinking of her, then another asking her out to dinner, stating they can forget about his proposal if that’s what she wants.

She agrees to another date and tells him she’s been thinking a lot about what he wants them to be. 

“I think three thousand is a bit much though,” she tells him. “What about two?”

He smiles handsomely and she feels a bit weak. “Only if I’m allowed to buy you whatever I want,”

She frowns. She doesn’t need _things_.

“I like the idea of spoiling you,” he says somewhat darkly, like he’s seducing her.

She feels hot under his gaze, and before she knows it, she’s saying yes and going home with him again, where they proceed to touch, kiss, and hold each other all night long.


	2. PART 1: Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is angst in this chapter, but remember, there's a happy ending. This chapter actually wraps up the story. The next chapter will be the same events but in Jughead POV, filling in his part of the story. I also wrote chapter four already, an epilogue of sorts. Hope you enjoy.

Betty has to admit, this arrangement she has with Jughead really isn’t all that bad. She doesn’t have to work, which means she can get a lot of studying done, she’s able to give her mom money whenever she asks for it without any thought, and her weekends are like stepping into another world.

Jughead’s got more money than anyone else she’s ever known, and he’s not afraid to spend it, taking her to the best restaurants in the city and whisking her away on the weekends. He buys her pretty things, which she doesn’t need, but she knows he likes it so she doesn’t mind - it’s more for him anyway, sexy lingerie and lovely silk dresses that make her feel beautiful and elegant. 

Tonight they had gone to a private movie screening, her second one with him, and she’s currently standing at the foot of his bed, slowly removing her dress and feeling very desired as he watches her. 

The bra and pantie set she’s got on underneath look incredible with her skin tone and the lace of the bra cup fits perfectly over half her breast, the top part exposed as she runs her hands gently over the perky mounds then down her curvy sides. 

“You’re so beautiful, you know that?”

She smiles innocently as she glances at the way he’s stroking himself. Since she's been with him, she’s felt only good things. He makes her feel like she’s worth everything, beautiful and smart and fun. They have lots and _lots_ of fun. 

She still thinks he’s too good to be true. 

“Come here,” he tells her. 

She smirks, feeling cheeky as she gets up onto the bed and crawls to him slowly, stopping to taste him and getting a little carried away. She loves going down on him, and she finds it funny, because she’s never been particularly fond of it with any of the other guys she’s slept with.

The sounds he’s making are getting her worked up as well, so without shame she pushes her free hand into her panties and pleasures them both at the same time. She’s not shy with him when it comes to sex, and she’s very aware she’s going through her sexual awakening with this wonderful man.

He’s opened her world up in so many ways and she’s just so glad she was brave enough to start this adventure with him. 

Before he comes he pulls her up onto his lap and they manage to push her panties to the side quickly. It isn’t long but they’re both holding each other as they come and kiss, like anchors to the world. 

She moans when he finally lets her off, and they both sit back against the headboard, satisfied and smiling like fools. 

His hand comes onto her naked thigh and she looks at him. She loves looking at him, he’s become her happy place. Plus he’s so nice to look at, perfectly toned tanned skin and lovely smiling lips. She loves his jaw too, she dreams about that strong jaw sometimes. 

“I’ve been meaning to tell you,” he says, “Reggie’s wife Veronica really wants to meet you. She invited us to their anniversary barbecue next week,”

“Oh,” she says, instantly a little nervous about it. She’s met his partner Reggie over at the office, and he was nice enough, so she figures his wife is probably nice as well. “Okay,”

He leans over and kisses her before inviting her to shower with him. 

As Betty gets ready in the gorgeous dress and heels Jughead bought her yesterday, she wonders if she’s over dressed.

Jughead kisses her cheek and laughs. “Knowing Veronica, we're probably _under_ dressed.”

He’s never steered her wrong before and she realizes she’d probably feel way worse if she was in cut off jean shorts and a T-shirt once she’s actually at the party. 

Reggie and Veronica's house is stunning and everyone looks like they’ve stepped out of a Saks Fifth Avenue catalogue. 

Everyone’s nice and Jughead stays by her side. She knows it’s not fair, but she doesn’t get the best vibe from Veronica, even though she’s been nothing but welcoming. 

So when she steals Betty away from Jughead to go introduce her to some other women, Betty tells Jughead it’s okay and she’ll see him in a little while. She can’t stay clutched to his arm all day. 

They all comment about how pretty she is and how they’re happy for Jughead. They tell her how Cheryl absolutely broke him after she left, and Betty’s not really sure she wants to hear it. She thinks its stupid. Cheryl’s the one that cheated, and she’s also the one that left. Jughead should have been the one to leave her, not the other way around. 

She feels a little uncomfortable, especially when they ask how old she is. She’s twenty-two and she knows the rest of them are in their forties at the least. They all look great of course. She’s pretty sure they care more about the age thing than she does. They continue to smile, but she still feels a bit judged. 

When she comes back out after using the bathroom, she overhears Veronica on the phone, the words ‘little gold digger’ and ‘whore’ mentioned. 

She finds Jughead and tries to put it out of her mind. She knows that’s not who she is and Cheryl’s been out of his life for awhile. He seems happy with Betty, and she hopes he is. She tries to make him happy, he deserves it after how great he’s been with her. 

By the time they get back to his place and make love all night, she’s forgotten about the whole thing. She doesn’t care what some random women think of her. All she really cares about is what she thinks of herself and she’s been happy since she’s been with Jughead. It feels like it might be the first time in her life that she’s actually _truly_ happy. 

When she wakes up she moans because she’s alone in an empty bed again. He’s both a night owl and an early bird, and she guesses that’s how he always gets so much done. 

“Jug?” she calls out, walking through the apartment to see if he’s there. 

She finds a note informing her he’s gone out to grab them breakfast. She takes the time to take a quick shower and gets dressed in some fresh clothes she’s left at his place. 

She decides to set the table with a few plates and cloth napkins while she waits, a huge smile coming across her face when she hears him at the door. 

“What took you so long, handsome?” she asks. “I had to shower without you,”

She’s surprised when instead of her boyfriend, his ex wife is standing there. The other woman smirks at her with full red lips, looking at her up and down with a smirk. 

“What are you going here?” Betty asks, feeling a mixture of panic and anger. “Breaking in?”

“I have keys,” Cheryl says easily, lifting them to show Betty. “Jughead gave them to me to use when I’m ready,”

“Ready for what?” Betty asks, confused and in disbelief that this crazy person is actually here. 

“To get back together of course,” Cheryl says matter of factly.

Betty’s not one to lash out easily but she just can’t help it. Cheryl is so smug, she feels like she might just slap her. “Fuck you! He’s with me now. You lost your chance when you cheated on him,”

Cheryl laughs at her anger and it only upsets her more. “Oh, you poor sweet girl. Just because he’s fucking you doesn’t mean he loves you. I’m his soul mate, he’s loved me since college. He’s always going to choose me over some little whore. You don’t even have keys to his place, do you?” She holds up her keys again just to make a point. 

“Why are you doing this?” Betty asks. “Do you even love him?”

“Of course I do,” she rolls her eyes, lifting her hand to look at her perfectly manicured long red nails. 

“You broke his heart and now you’re back? After he’s finally moved on?” she asks. She feels like she might cry, or scream, or maybe both. She just wants Cheryl to get out and leave them both alone. 

Before they can say more, Jughead’s finally back, looking at Cheryl like he’s seeing a ghost. 

“What are you doing here, Cher?” he asks, putting the food and coffee down. 

“Oh Jug,” Cheryl fake cries, flying into his arms and making Betty step back in confusion, trying to keep up. “I made a terrible mistake.”

Betty frowns when she sees his arm move around the other woman. “Are you in trouble?” he asks gently. 

It’s so clear in that moment that he still loves her. 

“No,” Cheryl sniffles. “I made a mistake leaving you. I’m so sorry. I wanted to come back earlier but I thought you’d hated me. Please, Jug,” she cries. “Tell me I’m not too late?”

Betty scoffs and rolls her eyes. It’s obvious what happened. Veronica called her yesterday and filled her in on Jughead’s new life, and now she’s jealous that he’s happy with someone else, that he’s moving on.

Betty looks at Jughead and he just frowns, looking pained. How can he not see what she’s doing here?

“Can we just talk? Maybe go to counseling like you originally wanted?” Cheryl asks. 

Betty watches with a heavy heart as he lifts his hands into Cheryl’s hair and holds her close. “We can talk,” he says. 

She can’t believe him, tears stinging her eyes at being left there, standing alone while he comforts the woman who broke his heart. 

Unable to look, she quickly runs to the bedroom and grabs her handbag and shoes before rushing out. She can’t deal with this. 

She’s such an idiot. It’s obvious now that all she was to him was someone to keep him busy until his wife returned. 

They deserve each other. If he doesn’t see through her bullshit then it’s not Betty’s responsibility to do it for him. 

A couple of days later, Betty works up the energy to get out of bed and go to class. She’s been pathetic, laying in bed crying, feeling sorry for herself. She’s never been this person before and she hates Jughead for turning her into this. 

He’s been calling and texting, but she doesn’t want to hear from him. She doesn’t want to hear whatever excuse he has for getting back together with a woman who cheated on him and then left him with a broken heart.

It hurts too much. 

When she gets out of class, she’s shocked to find Jughead at the bottom of the building steps.

“I’ve been trying to contact you,” he says.

It hurts to even look at him. “I have nothing to say to you,” she says. “You made me feel worthless, standing there with _her_ in your arms,”

“I’m so sorry,” he tries to say and she knows he’s not sorry for what she actually wants him to be sorry for. “I was surprised… I’ve been with her for so long. I told you that before we started dating,”

She nods. It’s true. He told her he was still in love with his ex, she was just silly enough to believe that the closer the two of them got, the more over his wife he’d get. 

“I just want to make this right by you,”

“You don’t owe me anything, Jughead,” she says, just like she doesn’t owe him this closure, but she’s giving it anyway. “I hope you two work it out this time,”

She goes to walk away but he places a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Please, I don’t want us to end like this… Can we… can we still be friends?”

She looks at him like he’s crazy. No, they definitely can’t be friends. 

“I can still help you,” he says. “Financially. I know you need it,”

Her jaw slacks in disbelief. “I’m not going to sleep with you now that you’re back together with your wife,”

“No,” he shakes his head. “You… I mean, I just want to give you this,” He hands her an envelope from his back pocket. “Should be enough for awhile, and when you need more, just say the word,”

Tears sing her eyes again. “I was just a plaything to you, wasn’t I?” she asks, although she’s probably known it all along. That connection she thought she felt with him was probably just lust and a need to be looked after that she never had with her father. It’s gross but she knows it’s probably true. “You think you can just throw money at me and toss me aside when you’re done?”

“Betty,” he sighs, looking very sorry.

She shakes her head and pushes the envelope back into his chest. “I don’t want your charity… Go back to your wife and _don’t_ contact me again!”

She rushes away, with him calling out her name. She’s just happy not too many other people are around to witness her shame. 

Betty tells herself it’s better this way, without Jughead in her life. Being in Jughead’s life had been exciting, but it wasn’t for her. She even feels like now she’s lost a part of herself, having given herself over to him so completely. She knows what that part is, and it’s the most important part - her heart.

It doesn’t matter, she tells herself. She’s back to her old life. The diner took her back without question, giving her a shift that same day, and things are like they were before.

She tries to forget, busying herself with looking for a second job and studying for her upcoming exams.

When her mom calls, she’s happy for yet another distraction.

“I have some good news,” she says and Betty smiles. She could really use some good news, especially now when she’s trying not to cry again. 

“I know it may seem sudden,” her mother says, “But I met someone a couple of months ago and it’s getting serious and… I’m really happy, Betty… Are you okay with this?”

Tears flow down her cheeks. She’s happy for her mother, of course she is, but she can’t help feeling sad for herself still. “That’s so great, mom,” she says, wiping her tears away quickly and hoping it doesn’t sound like she’s crying. If anything, hearing her mom’s good news only makes her heart ache more. “Of course I’m okay with it… Tell me everything,”

Betty’s cleaning every nook and cranny of the kitchen when Toni finally comes home one night, pulling her away from her task. 

“You have to stop, Betty,” she tells her. “You’re going to burn yourself out. You’re always doing something. Ever since you and Jughead broke up it’s like you won’t eat or sleep, but you’ll kill yourself working and study… and cleaning this little crappy apartment over and over again…”

Betty sighs. If she stops she’s going to lose it.

She puts her head in her hands and sobs, the action coming easily. She’s never been hurt like this, and it aches so badly. All she wants is to go back to before Cheryl ruined everything, to the nights she slept peacefully in Jughead’s arms and the mornings she ate his delicious homemade breakfasts.

Her heart hurts for him too, knowing he’s with someone who won’t treat him right.

“I did what you told me not to,” she manages to say.

Toni rubs her back. “I know,” she says gently. “You fell in love with him,”

Betty cries harder, the fact that it’s been said only making it hurt worse. 

“I’m so stupid! He told me,” she sobs, “he told me he still loved her and he paid me to be his girlfriend. What did I expect?”

Toni hushes her, and like a good friend, stays with her for the night. With Toni’s arms around her, she manages to actually fall asleep for a few hours. Her friend is right, she needs rest before she completely burns herself out. 

A few weeks pass and Betty’s back into her old routine, only now she can’t concentrate. She forgets to smile and makes shit tips. Food has no taste and she still forgets to eat most of the time. She realizes she even forgets how to be a good friend, and knowing she has to be better, she agrees to go out with Toni and the guy she’s been seeing. 

He introduces her to a friend, Jason, who actually seems like a nice guy. Not wanting to bring down anyone’s fun, she gets a few drinks in her and flirts with Jason.

It’s all going okay, until he tells her how hot he thinks she is and tries to kiss her.

She panics, pushing him away and running out of the bar. She can’t do it. She thought she could hookup with someone else, but she’s just not ready. 

She’s a mess and can’t do anything right. She feels broken and like she’ll never get over this.

She texts Toni a quick apology, telling her she’s getting a cab and going home. 

She misses Jughead so much, and like an idiot, not really knowing what she’s doing, she begins to walk towards his office building. She’s really not that far and she doesn’t think it through, her head dizzy from all the drinks she’s had at the bar.

She had thought she already hit rock bottom, but that isn’t until she actually trips over her own feet and comes face to face with the sidewalk. It’s dangerous, walking around at night by herself, crying, realizing she’s more drunk than she is tipsy.

“Betty?”

She thinks she’s imagining his voice. She’s gone crazy. But then he’s helping her up and she’s looking at him like he’s an angel, sent here to help her.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, letting him hold her. Her knee and elbow hurt and she frowns at the realization. 

“I work here, just wrapping up a last minute project,” he says. “What are you doing here?”

She shrugs. It’s not important.

“Come on, I’ll take you home,”

She scoffs. “Where’s your precious Cheryl?” she asks.

“I don’t know,” he says. “I’m never going to see her again. I kicked her out that same day I saw you at your school,”

She looks up at him and in her hazy state, she kisses him, those words, that woman being out of the picture making things so much better.

“Betty,” he says, “As much as I want this, I’m afraid you’re not thinking straight,”

“Take me home and fuck me,” she says, needing him so badly. Plus, she’s a slutty drunk when it comes to him. 

He chuckles and holds her up straighter. “Come on,”

She practically attacks him in the cab but he’s sober so he does a good job at making sure nothing inappropriate happens.

She tries again when they’re at his place but he tells her he’s got to take care of her knee and elbow first, have her eat and drink something, then if she still wants this, he’ll give it to her.

“I always want you,” she says.

He smirks that handsome smile and she lets him take care of her, patching her up before getting her some water and making her a sandwich.

She thinks he’s perfect, even if he broke her heart.

“I’m so sorry,” he tells her, caressing hair off her face. “I’m sorry I hurt you,”

She kisses him. “Just don’t do it again, okay?”

“Never,” he breathes, holding her closer.

She sleeps so deeply that night that she thinks maybe it’s all a dream, but he’s there when she wakes up, and even though she’s sure she has bad breath, he finally gives into her now that she’s sober, and they make love.

“Jug?” she says, watching him as he makes them breakfast.

“Yes, beautiful?” he asks. She smiles at how easily they fall back into being around each other.

“I… I kind of love you,” she admits, not afraid to do so.

He leaves the food for a moment to look at her. “I kind of love you too,”

She smiles so big her cheeks hurt, but then she remembers and frowns. “Do you love Cheryl still?”

He shakes his head. “She’s been a bad person for a long time. It just took me a while to figure it out. Don’t worry, there’s nothing standing between us anymore. You’re the only one I want to be with,”

She smiles again. She believes him.

“Oh and… I have something for you,”

“Jug, no,” she sighs. She doesn’t want to continue this sugar relationship thing, she just wants a regular old relationship. She doesn’t care if she has to work to support herself and her family. It’s better this way.

Before she can protest to another gift, he holds up a set of keys. “For you, so you can come here whenever you want,”

She takes them and looks at the silver metal and what it represents.

“Don’t worry,” he adds. “I changed the locks and those are a fresh set,”

She really does feel like this is a fresh start for them, and she can’t wait to do it right this time.


	3. PART 2

Jughead thinks he’s never going to get through this. Signing the divorce papers feels like signing his heart away. Even though Cheryl cheated on him, he still wanted to work things out, stay together and be the man she needed him to be. Maybe if he was around more, if he tried harder, she wouldn’t have gone looking elsewhere.

“You doing okay?” a gentle voice asks from above him.

He looks at his waitress, remembering where he is, the diner he sometimes stops into that’s close to his office.

She begins to refill his coffee.

“Just a shit morning, I’m afraid,”

She offers a kind smile and he thinks she’s sweet, even if she’s just pretending to care for the tips. He remembers what it was like before he got wealthy, working crap jobs just to get by. He thanks god those days are over.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Sometimes it helps to tell a stranger,”

Jughead thinks she’s beautiful, now that he’s really looking. She’s young and he’s sure she won’t understand, but he sighs and tells her anyway. “Relationship trouble… or lack thereof, I should say,”

She nods. “I know how that goes,”

He doubts it, but he really appreciates her kindness. He’s been in such a slump since Cheryl left, and it’s nice to talk to another beautiful woman, even if she is just a server at an old diner.

“You have a real bar tender vibe right now,” he says, thinking maybe going to an actual bar might help. It would be less pathetic than getting drunk home alone every night at least.

She laughs. “I work over at The Vixen at night, so I guess you could say I’m a professional,” 

She gets called away to another table and he watches as the smile on her face never falters. The least he can do is give her a nice tip, then he says goodbye and goes to busy himself with work.

“Dude,” Reggie says, coming into his office. “All this extra work you’ve been putting in is great for business, but you’re really bringing down the whole mood of the office,”

Jughead looks out through the glass wall of his office and sees that no one seems bothered at all. Everyone looks the same as they always do, a few people chatting by reception, another one smiling while on the phone with someone.

He gives Reggie a look like he doesn’t believe him. Reggie takes a seat opposite him and leans in like he’s going to tell him a secret. “I’m going to give you some advice, man,”

Jughead waits and thinks this should be good. Reggie is great in business and he’s even been a good friend in the years they’ve built their company together, but he is a bit of a character.

“You need to bang at least a dozen hot pieces of ass and move on, my friend,”

He frowns. It’s exactly what his lawyer told him. And she’s a woman. Maybe not in such vulgar words though. She told him he needs to get back out there and go on a  date or two with new people.

“Seriously, man, I’m jealous, you’re free to do whatever you want, and instead of being out there fucking half the city, you’re here being more lame than usual,”

“You have a beautiful wife and two kids and _you’re_ jealous of _me_?”

Reggie rolls his eyes. “I love them but they’re a pain in my ass,”

Jughead shakes his head. Of course Reggie doesn’t appreciate what he has. 

“You and me, buddy, I’m taking you out tonight,”

“No, Reg, I’m not ready to date anyone new,” he says. 

“Who said anything about dating?” Reggie asks. “I’m talking about sex, man, fucking ripe young chicks who are pretty much begging for it,”

Jughead pulls a face. “Sometimes you’re really disgusting, you know that?”

Reggie rolls his eyes again. From there he proceeds to blow Jughead’s mind by telling him he has a girl on the side, has for awhile.

“Man, don’t tell me that,” Jughead says in defeat. He’s friends with Veronica and he’s watched their kids grow up since they were born.

“Don’t worry,” he says like it’s no big deal, proceeding to tell him all about the arrangement he has with the other woman.

“She’s never going to fall in love with me, she knows her place and I know mine. It’s the perfect relationship. She’s in college and needs money, and I need a woman who doesn’t bite my head off every time I speak,”

“Sounds weird,” he says.

“No, what’s weird is you still have pictures of your ex, who fucked  _ other _ guys, up in your office, and probably at your place too. You and I are going out, there’s a party where older men can meet younger women, and yours truly has an invite,”

Jughead hates the idea.

“Come on, if only to have a few drinks and prove to me you haven’t turned into a complete pussy,”

He goes, just to shut Reggie up. It’s weird, there’s a couple of half naked girls dancing up on podiums by the bar, and gross old men walking around hitting on younger, gorgeous women. 

He gets a drink and he and Reggie split up, Reggie already with his arm around some brunette. He feels very out of his element. 

A pretty blonde girl comes up to him. He offers to buy her a drink, even though he really isn’t into all this. They talk a little and it seems obvious to him that she’s fake. She tells him she’s never done this before, but she’s awfully good at it.

When he excuses himself to use the restroom, she’s already moved onto another guy, and Jughead decides to leave. This isn’t his scene anyway.

He thinks it must be fate, when he looks up and see the name of the bar he’s walking by. The Vixen, the one his waitress from this morning told him she works at.

He thinks he’d much rather see her than anyone at the other club, so he goes in and spots her behind the bar. She’s smiling again, beautiful full pink lips and pretty blonde hair pulled back off her stunning face. 

To his surprise, she recognizes him and the two begin chatting as she works. She’s really sweet and genuine, nothing like the women at the club.

He enjoys her company, and realizes he’s probably said too much, coming off as a creepy older guy when he tells her where he came from that night, but she doesn’t seem to mind or judge.  


The night takes turns he doesn’t expect and, probably due to the drinks he’s had, he’s quick to defend her when her sleazy boss puts his hands on her. He should be embarrassed, getting kicked out of a bar like that, especially at his age, but Betty follows him and he doesn’t feel embarrassed at all.

He offers to take her home and even though he doesn’t expect anything, he finds himself taking her up on the offer when she invites him up.

He’s only been with one woman since college, and he finds himself fucking the young beauty like he’s got something to prove. She’s so sexy and he knows, even as he feels like he’s cheating on his wife, that this is probably the best sex he’s ever had.

He’s surprised by his stamina, especially after not having had sex for so long, but Betty is insatiable and they don’t actually stop until she passes out and he covers her with a nearby blanket.

He’s not sure if it’s more for her or him, but he pulls all the hundred dollar bills he’s got out of his wallet, then finds a piece of paper and pen on her kitchen counter, writing down his phone number and adding it to the cash on the coffee table. 

He watches Betty for a moment, gently brushing some soft hair off her face as she sleeps, then kisses her cheek and leaves. 

She’s upset about the money and he realizes that he probably left it because Reggie did have some kind of a point with the whole sugar relationship thing. Giving Betty money removes him from having a deeper connection with her. It gives him a power over the situation that he hasn’t had in a long time, maybe ever. And it feels really good knowing he can do this little thing to make her life easier.

While he was busy making more money than he could spend, his wife was crying out for attention, and when he didn’t notice, he lost her.

Betty agrees to a date and they spend another incredible night together.

Trying to talk to her the next morning doesn’t go well though. He wants to tell her that the reason he wants to pay her is somehow easier than having a conventional relationship. He’s not ready, even though he wants to spend time with her. Entering into this agreement will ensure no one gets hurt.

He likes her so much that he’s willing to drop it, but something changes and she agrees. This arrangement will allow him to move on, when in reality he’s really not sure he’s ready to.

Betty is sweet and she’s beautiful. She’s exactly what he needs and he finds that every day with her is a day closer to being better.

She’s sexy too, not in a super obvious way like Cheryl was, but in a way that makes him feel like she’s only doing it for him.

He waits as she comes out of the hotel bathroom, wearing sexy fishnet thigh high stocking and high heels, paired with a lacy bra and pantie set. He can’t wait to rip it all off her. She’s perfect.

“What do you think?” she asks, biting her plump bottom lip. They are away for the long weekend and he had bought her everything she’s wearing now at a cute little boutique they stopped into earlier in the day. 

He groans as she does a little turn and shows off her insanely fit yet curvy body.

“I think you better come here and sit on my face for a good forty minutes,”

She giggles and comes up onto the bed with him. He pulls her on top, making her fall into his chest.

His hand slides down to her exposed ass cheek, which he gives a light slap and grabs onto. “Does that sound good, baby?”

She moans and nods and he smacks her ass again, telling her to climb on up.

He’s always enjoyed pleasing his partner, and Betty’s just a perfect combination of adventurous and innocent. She’s always so responsive and sensitive, boosting his ego and making him feel like some sex god who suddenly knows just what women want. She whines and moans above him, riding his face in a way that has him harder than he thinks he’s ever been.

Their love making ranges from soft and sweet to a little bit rough and dirty. No matter what though, they’re always on the same page, and he thinks maybe he did something right, getting to be with Betty after everything that happened before he met her. She’s an angel. 

Things are going so well that he even tells his friends about her, and like the good friend she’s always been, Veronica invites them both over. He’s so happy to show Betty off, proud of her and proud to be with her. She works so hard, he’s just happy he’s able to make life the tiniest bit easier for her. 

Just when he thinks things are going well, he walks in on Cheryl and Betty arguing in his dining room.

He’s so shocked at seeing her, that he doesn’t know what to do when she throws herself into his arms. He’s still got so much guilt over what happened and he doesn’t want to throw all the years they’ve been together away, even though it breaks his heart to see the way he’s hurt Betty, and the way she runs out.

There’s no winning in this situation, no matter what he chooses to do someone will get hurt. Betty’s been so good to him, but he’s shared his whole life with Cheryl and for the longest time he’s been hoping she’d come back to him.

Of course the moment it happens is the moment he finally stops wishing it would.

He owes it to himself and to her to try and make this work. She wants to go to counseling, to get back together and get their lives back on track.

He tries to apologies to Betty, to help her still, but she throws it back in his face and tells him never to contact her again. He gets it, and he respects her wishes.

He tries with Cheryl. He knows he should be happy but weirdly enough he’s not. Thanks to his whole messed up life, he’s hurt an innocent woman and it’s the last thing he wishes upon her.

Betty was perfect, and she was right, it was wrong of him to leave her standing there alone while he consoled his ex wife. He feels like such a fuck up. 

“Darling,” Cheryl calls from the open bathroom door while he sits on the edge of the bed, feeling sorry for himself. He had just seen Betty for the last time earlier that day, and the knowledge of that hurts more than he expects it to. 

“Yeah?”

“I’m just going to have a quick shower, then could you take me to that new restaurant that opened up by your office?”

“Yeah,” he replies, falling back on the bed and staring at the ceiling. He thinks about how Betty used to be happy with burgers and fries and how she never actually asked for anything.

He hopes she’s doing okay.

A buzzing next to his head makes him turn, seeing it’s Cheryl’s phone. He frowns as he grabs it and looks at the text that’s come through.

He’s heart drops as he looks at the filthy text chain she has with another man, her last text to him not even an hour ago, when they were watching television and he thought she was texting with a friend.

He looks at her other texts, finding more, a clear indication she’s still fucking other men, even though she swore to him she never would again.

His blood boils, getting up and storming into the bathroom.

He opens the shower door and she purrs, “Want to join me, lover?”

They haven’t had sex yet since she’s been back, and he realizes, even though he used to think she was the sexiest woman in the world, he’s no longer distracted by or interested in her naked body. 

It hits him then. He never neglected her. Even though he was busy with work, he still took her on date nights, complimented her, asked her about her day, made love to her at night. He didn’t deserve to be cheated on. 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Cheryl?” he asks, holding the phone up.

She forgets about her shower and opens her mouth in disbelief like he’s done something wrong. “You went through my phone?”

“You forgot to turn off your notifications like you used to when we were married,” he tells her. “Get your shit and get the fuck out,” he says, closing the shower door back in her face and throwing her phone on the counter.

“I could have been the perfect little wife you wanted!” she yells back at him, clearly out of the shower now. “If you would have just stopped snooping!”

He grabs his wallet and keys, slamming the door on his way out.

He’s such an idiot. He’s been so blinded by what he wanted the two of them to be, that he didn’t realize she’s been a horrible person this entire time.

Things are worse than they were when Cheryl first left him. He doesn’t go into the office, he only goes out to get alcohol, then drinks his sorrows away until he passes out.

He had the perfect woman, one who wanted a real loving relationship with him, and he screwed it all up.

When Reggie comes over to try and cheer him up, he only feels worse.

“I’m worried about you,”

“I’m fine,” he tells his friend. “I just miss Betty,”

“Oh,” he says, “well just call the girl, I’m sure she misses the money, she’ll take you back,”

He looks at Reggie like he hates him. “You’re a fucking asshole sometimes, you know that? It wasn’t about the money for her, she wanted to be with me, and I threw it in her face,”

“I had no idea, I’m sorry,” Reggie signs. “You should call her and tell her how you feel,”

He can’t. He knows he’s hurt her beyond measure, and she asked him to not contact her again. He doesn’t want to go against her wishes.

But Reggie is right. He’s got to get out of this funk and go back to work at least.

Instead of drinking, Jughead spends all his time at the office, staying late into most nights, even on Fridays. 

As he’s leaving that night, he spots a girl on the pavement, rushing over to help and even more worried when he realizes it’s Betty. He hasn’t seen her in weeks.

“Betty?” he asks, although he already knows it’s her, and begins to help her up.

She’s obviously been drinking, her cheeks covered in tears. It also appears she’s scraped her elbow and knee during her fall.

“What are you doing here?” she asks.

“I work here, just wrapping up a last minute project,” he lies, hoping it sounds less pathetic that he’s still here if he has a real reason for it. “What are you doing here?” he asks. He’s so glad to see her. He’s been avoiding the diner, just in case she’s back there, knowing she probably wouldn’t want to see him.

He looks into her watery green eyes and she just shrugs.

“Come on, I’ll take you home,” he says. There’s no way he’s leaving her like this, all alone in the street. He’s honestly mad at whoever it was she was with, leaving her like this.

She scoffs and it surprises him a little. “Where’s your precious Cheryl?” she asks. He knows she’s trying to sound mean, but she just sounds sad and his heart tugs at remembering what he’s done to her.

“I don’t know,” he says honestly. “I’m never going to see her again. I kicked her out that same day I saw you at your school,” Cheryl hasn’t contacted him since then. It’s good, they both know it’s over for real this time.

She looks up at him and he’s even more surprised when she kisses him. He tastes the liquor on her lips and tongue. 

“Betty,” he says, “As much as I want this, I’m afraid you’re not thinking straight,”

“Take me home and fuck me,” she says, unashamed. She’s definitely drunk, not that she hasn’t said those words to him when she was sober too.

He chuckles and holds her up straighter. “Come on,” he says with resolve.

It’s a little hard keeping her off him on the cab ride and once they’re back at his place. He wants her too of course, but right now he’s way more focused on taking care of her than sleeping with her again.

“I have to take care of your knee and elbow first, Betty. Get you some water and a sandwich… then if you still want to, we can have sex,” He doesn’t mean it of course, at least not tonight. He wants to make sure she’s in her right mind when she makes the decision about if she wants to be with him again or not. He knows it’s not even a question for him. If she’ll take him back, he’ll be the luckiest man in the world.

“I always want you,” she frowns.

He smiles at her and continues to take care of her, glad she’s actually eating and drinking the food he’s put in front of her. All he wants is to keep her here, keep her safe.

“I’m so sorry,” he tells her, caressing hair off her face. “I’m sorry I hurt you,”

Even though she’s mid chew, she leans in and kisses him again. “Just don’t do it again, okay?”

He can’t believe it. “Never,” he promises, knowing that no matter what, going forward he’ll only have her best interests in mind. He’ll go out of his way to make sure no one, especially him, will hurt her again.

Thankfully she falls asleep after she eats and drinks her water. He checks up on her a few times during the night, she seems okay.

Waking up together is the absolute best feeling. He’s afraid that now that she’s sober she’ll feel differently than she did the night before, but when she reaches for him, he more than happily gets on top of her, giving them both what she wanted last night.

Now that he lets himself let go, making love to her feels even better. He’s not going to keep his feelings for her at arms length anymore. He loves her and he’s going to dive into that bliss head on. 

“Jug?” she says, getting his attention away from the breakfast he’s making them after they’re finally out of bed. He loves her voice, especially when she’s saying his name.

“Yes, beautiful?” he asks, giving her his attention.

“I… I kind of love you,” she says, catching him off guard.

He leaves the food to look at her, smiling. “I kind of love you too,” he says, and it’s easy. He does love her, loving her is easy when he lets himself.

She smiles back at him but something makes her frown. “Do you love Cheryl still?”

It’s a valid question, especially after what he did to her. “She’s been a bad person for a long time. It just took me a while to figure it out. Don’t worry, there’s nothing standing between us anymore. You’re the only one I want to be with,” He’s sorry it took so long for him to figure out. He could have spared them both the heartache.

“Oh and… I have something for you,” he says, remembering the two new sets of keys he has sitting in a drawer.

“Jug, no,” she sighs. He knows she’ll probably want things to change between them, for them to be in a more normal relationship than they had before, but he’s not going to stop showering her with gifts, and he’s pretty sure she’ll be okay with this one.

He grabs them and holds them up. “For you, so you can come here whenever you want,”

She takes them and he’s glad.

“Don’t worry,” he adds. “I changed the locks and those are a fresh set,”

He hopes they represent what he wants for them - a fresh start, where they’re both in this one hundred percent.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked Jughead POV.   
> As a reminder this is inspired by the graphic novel 'Sugar', some direct quotes taken. Credit goes there. The final part though, is all out of my own mind, as the graphic novel ends where I ended the two first parts.


	4. PART 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This last chapter is rated E for a little extra smut than the rest of the fic. It's all just at the end, so if you want to skip that, just stop reading when things start to get heated towards the end :) Thank you guys for reading.

Graduating from college has always felt like some far off dream Betty would never actually accomplish. But here she is, with her cap and gown, more proud than she has ever been of herself. She had taken a couple of years off between high school and college, to work and save up, and she had done it all on her own (mostly). Jughead helped here and there with money still, but for a long time she had made ends meet herself, and now she feels like she can do anything.

Thankfully though, she doesn’t need to do anything on her own anymore. Being with Jughead, with someone who wants to help, has taught her that maybe it’s okay to accept help from loved ones. She had helped her mother, and her mom had helped her sister, and Jughead helped her. That’s how family works.

Jughead surprised her by bringing her mom, Polly, and the twins out for her graduation, and they’re all in the audience, cheering her on.

After the ceremony, she’s further surprised when Jughead’s dad, sister and sister in law join them in celebrating her achievement. There’s a beautiful rooftop party, which he had hired Veronica to plan. Betty still keeps her guard up around Veronica, knowing she was the one who went to Cheryl back when they were first introduced, but she’s a fantastic event planner, and Betty doesn’t actually believe Veronica has any intentions of trying breaking them up. It was probably just her being a loyal friend to Cheryl at the time.

She has a fantastic time, exhausted from all the excitement of the day, and she’s pretty much ready to pass out by the time they’re back at Jughead’s place and she’s sitting up on his bed undoing the tiny buckle of her left heel.

“I have one more gift for you,” Jughead tells her as he gets ready for bed.

She frowns. He already bought her a beautiful necklace and she doesn’t want or need anything else. He’s always giving her too much.

He smiles like he knows what he’s thinking, and she gets a little distracted, biting her lip as she looks down at his now naked chest. She’s tired, but suddenly she’s got a burst of energy.

He chuckles. “Focus, bad girl,”

She smiles at him darkly, because it really does feel like he can read her mind sometimes.

“I want to ask… We’ve been together a few years now and if you think you’re ready, I’d really love it if you moved in here with me,”

She’s not expecting it at all, but she’s so happy that she practically flies into his arms and starts crying. She’s ready, she’s so ready. But she thought he wouldn’t be, not for a while still, not after how badly his last relationship ended. She knows he tries to be careful with every step they take, and she’s tried to be mindful of that.

But she isn’t Cheryl and he isn’t who he was back then either. So she knows their story will play out much differently than his last relationship did.

They move her stuff in in one afternoon, and quicker than she expects, they fall into a fun routine together. They wake up together and eat breakfast, he heads to work and she spends her time job hunting, then they have dinner and spend time together before beginning the next day much the same way.

Sometimes, to break up her day, she brings him lunch into the office. He’s offered to hire her, he says he’s sure she would be of value, but she’s very adimate about not wanting to work for him. She just thinks it would be too weird, and she doesn’t want to work somewhere where everyone knows she only got the job because she’s sleeping with the boss.

She says hello to the people who work there as she passes by their desks. She’s met them all multiple times at different work parties and of course, from all the times she comes in to visit.

She knocks on Jughead’s glass door and holds up their salads with a smile. He’s on the phone so he smiles and waves her in.

She comes to sit in one of the chairs opposite his desk and begins to get the utensils out, setting up while he finishes with his call.

He finishes quickly and gets up to come give her a kiss.

“Busy day?” she asks.

He shrugs. “That was actually one of my old college friends. She owns a little private publishing company and she’d like you to give her a call so you can set up an interview time,”

She opens her mouth in disbelief, wanting to scold him but it’s kind of hard when she’s honestly excited by the prospect. She had gone on a few interviews, and filled out endless applications, but nothing had panned out yet. She doesn’t expect it to be easy. 

“Baby,” she says in warning, frowning at him. “You know I don’t want you using your contacts to give me special treatment just because I’m your girlfriend,” she says, sighing.

He takes a bite of his salad and chews before answering. “There’s a lot of perks that come with dating me, Betty, just accept it,”

She laughs because it’s not really something she expects him to say.

He smiles. “You won’t be getting it because of me. All I did was ask an old friend if she’s looking for anyone. You’ll be the one who lands the job after you blow her away with your wonderful self at the interview,”

She thinks he’s amazing. She reminds herself to accept the help where she can get it, and not complain.

The interview with Jughead’s old college friend goes better than Betty expects. The two of them click from the very beginning, and the woman even asks Betty out to lunch so they can continue chatting longer.

A few days later, she’s coming in to get everything set up with HR and a day after that, she gets her own desk. It’s nothing crazy, an entry level position where she has the opportunity to prove herself. It’s all she could wish for.

She loves her job, she loves going to the office and she clicks with almost everyone there. Then in the evenings and on the weekends, she gets to spend time with Jughead.

She never imagined things could be so perfect.

She should have known though, that as soon as things are going too well, somethings going to come along and ruin everything.

When she complains a few times at work, about feeling sick after lunch, one of her new co workers asks if she’s pregnant, and instantly Betty’s face feels like it’s drained of blood. She’s been so preoccupied with learning her new job, trying to keep up with everything, impressing her new boss with how quickly she’s picking things up, that she completely hadn’t realized how late her period is.

She buys a pregnancy test from a pharmacy around the corner, and sits in one of the bathroom stalls as she waits for the results.

It feels like hours, even though it’s only a few minutes. Her eyes fill with tears when the first test comes out positive. She has absolutely no idea what this will mean. She and Jughead have never talked about kids and she’s pretty sure he never had them with his ex wife because he didn’t want them.

They weren’t planning on this, and she’s not even sure how it happened. She’s on birth control. 

The second test comes out positive too, and thankfully she’s able to reach her doctor and book an appointment in a couple of days.

She doesn’t tell Jughead. He thinks she’s just going for a regular checkup.

Her stomach is in knots over the whole thing. She’s terrified and uncertain, wondering if maybe she should have just told him as soon as she found out.

The doctor confirms that she’s six weeks pregnant and sends her off with a bunch of pamphlets, telling her to book her next appointment with the receptionist before she leaves, and letting her know they can discuss whichever option she chooses to take.

She has no idea how she’s going to tell Jughead, and she’s really afraid about what he’ll say. But she’s almost certain that she doesn’t want to have an abortion. She’s not against it but she just doesn’t think she wants one. She likes kids and she thinks she’d be a good mom, even though it’s unexpected.

Jughead is working in his home office when she gets home.

“How was your appointment, babe?” he asks casually as she stands at the doorway.

“Can I Join you?” she asks.

He pulls his chair back and pats his lap. “Of course, come here,”

She does, and she can’t help the look of despair on her face as she comes to sit on his lap.

“Hey,” he says with worry, “Are you okay? Did the doctor say something?”

She bites her lip and works up the courage to look him in the eye.

“I lied to you,”

He frowns.

“It wasn’t just a regular check up,” she swallows, glancing back at his chest. “I ah, took a pregnancy test the other day and I wanted to make sure… Well, the doctor confirmed it just now. I’m five weeks.”

“Oh,” he says, his tone and demeanor not indicating in either way how he feels.

“I… I didn’t plan this, Jug. I swear I’ve been taking my pills like I always do. The doctor said sometimes… I just… I’m sorry,”

He shakes his head and takes her chin between his fingers, making her look at him as she’s on the verge of tears.

“You’re carrying our baby, my love, don’t be sorry for that,”

She does cry then, wrapping her arms around him and feeling better when he holds her to him. She doesn’t want him to ever let go.

“I thought you’d be mad at me,” she says after a while, through a sniffle as she pulls her face away from his shoulder and finally looks at him again.

He wipes her cheeks. “Why would I be mad at you? We did this together,”

When his hand moves down over her still flat belly, her hand comes on top of his. Now that some of her fears have been resolved, she feels so much love for the tiny thing growing inside her. She wants this.

“We’ve never talked about kids and I didn’t know if you wanted any… I mean, you and Cheryl never had any,”

“She didn’t want kids and I was fine with it… but I’ve never been opposed to the idea… especially now,” 

He pulls her down for a kiss, which she returns very happily.

Betty hopes that what Jughead told her is the truth - that he really does want to have this baby and he isn’t just saying it because it’s what she wants to hear. And she’s sure of it when over the next week he’s happier than she’s even seen him. She even catches him singing in the shower, and she’s  _ never _ heard him sing. 

She’s happy too. They didn’t plan on this, but it’s a happy surprise.

He books a spa day for her and Toni to relax. They’re a long way away from their sugar relationship days but he still loves to spoil her, and she’s honestly learned to like it as well. It makes him happy and she wants him to be happy.

Even though it’s still too early, she tells Toni the happy news. It’s good to tell someone else, to talk about her concerns and have Toni assure her that Jughead seems just as happy.

He takes her out to dinner that night. They usually go out to dinner at least once a week, so she doesn’t think much of it. So when he asks her to marry him she’s completely shocked.

He opens a small black velvet box and inside is the most beautiful diamond ring she’s ever seen in her life. Like kids, the two of them had never talked about marriage, and she had figured he wouldn’t want to get married again.

“Are you sure?” she asks. “Are you only asking because I’m pregnant?”

He looks a little worried then. “I mean, yes maybe the pregnancy did speed things up a bit, but I definitely want to spend the rest of our lives together,”

She bites her lip in contemplation. She wants to say yes, but she’s not sure it’s what he really wants.

“You and our baby mean everything to me, I want to be a family and if you don’t want to get married it’s okay, we can still be a family without signing some papers and wearing rings,”

She smiles because he really is the sweetest. “I do want to get married,” she admits, “to you,”

He gets out of his chair to kiss her and slips the ring onto her finger. She’s mesmerized. She’s not really one to like shiny things but she  _ loves _ her ring.

He makes love to her when they get home and she knows everything is going to be okay. She’s found her home, here with him and their baby.

Neither of them wants a big fancy wedding, but they also want to do something special. They decide on a destination wedding to Bora Bora. He flies both their families out and they spend five days with everyone, the twins fascinated by Betty’s growing belly. They’re excited to have a cousin to play with soon, and Betty makes a promise to herself to get back home more often, to visit with them.

She never pictured being pregnant in her wedding dress, but then again, she never seriously pictured herself getting married either, so it’s not a huge deal.

She’s pretty small, only in her fifth month and the elegant way her dress flows around her makes her feel beautiful. The life growing inside her is proof of how much she and Jughead love each other, and she’s not ashamed at all about showing that off.

They get married on the beach during sunset, and afterwards share a delicious meal with their family.

Their family heads back home and they stay another week, relocating to a bungalow above the water, and Betty thinks she’s never been more relaxed in her life. They’re in heaven.

They are completely secluded besides for the staff that visit in the morning and afternoon, bringing fresh food and towels, cleaning up. The weather is perfect. They have a hot tub  _ and _ pool in the back,  _ plus _ there are steps that lead right into the crystal clear water below and around them.

Even though she’s pregnant, their honeymoon is just as sexy as she hoped. If anything, being pregnant has just amplified her hormones and heightened her attraction to him.

Since they’re alone, she walks around naked for most of the day, usually in the water, sunbathing or in bed with Jughead. He doesn’t seem to mind and she loves how he almost can’t seem to keep his hands off her, telling her she’s sexier with each passing day.

Since the staff have just left, Betty knows no one will be back in a long time, so she slips off her silk robe and lays out to enjoy the sun. She also hopes that the sight of her naked like this will give Jughead ideas for round two of the day.

Of course, she won’t settle for any less than four on any given day. Thankfully he’s surpassed her goal on each day so far.

She tries not to smirk when he brings her a drink and holds up the tanning oil, offering to oil her up. She’s turned on by just the thought.

She takes a sip of her drink. “Yes, please, daddy, my front first,” she smirks.

He starts with her legs, massaging his way up and of course skipping the section she really wants him to touch. He does her arms next and then moves onto her stomach, much more gentle and sweet there. There’s something so comforting in the way he rubs her belly, and both she and the baby like it, the action always calming them both down.

She doesn’t even mean to, but when he moves onto her breasts, she moans. It feels so good. She’s always had nice sized breasts, but since she’s gotten pregnant they’ve only grown and they continue to be a little tender even this far into the pregnancy.

She actually doesn’t mind it. The tenderness makes them more sensitive and she loves how much attention Jughead’s been giving them. He’s not in a rush at all as he rubs them, her eyes closed as she enjoys the whole oily massage.

“Feeling relaxed yet, baby?” he asks, never stopping.

She moans with a pout and squirms a little in the longue chair. “More like very worked up,” she admits.

She loves the way he chuckles. “Shall we do something about it?”

She moans and spreads her legs shamelessly to let him know what she wants.

Without teasing her any further, he moves his hands between her legs, opening her up further then finally teasing her clit. The oil all over her body and his hands feels so good. They’re warm and touching her just the right way.

She’s not really in any rush to come, so she enjoys all the teasing and very particular attention her swollen nerve is getting. She almost likes the torture of it all.

She gasps when he presses a little harder.

“Ready to come yet?”

She bites her lip and nods. “I want to come with you inside me though,” she says, knowing he’s been hard this whole time.

He smiles. “Come on, get on your hands and knees,”

She smiles too as they move into position and he easily moves into her from how wet she is at this point.

It only takes a few thrusts for her to come, shaking and feeling a little weak as he continues. It’s incredible, getting to make love to her husband outside like this, in the most perfect environment she’s ever been in. It’s also kind of naughty without being risky. No one will see, it’s completely private, but the thrill is still there.

He reaches around to grab her breast before sliding his hand over her belly and reaching for her clit again. She yelps at the feel of it, so much pleasure both internally and externally, but his other hand is gripping her hip tightly, making sure she doesn’t pull away and fucking her harder.

She gasps his name but before she can say anymore, her vision blurs and her mind goes blank, realizing she’s squirted a moment after it’s over. It makes her even more relaxed, letting him fuck her until he reaches his own release as well, falling back onto the lounge chair when he’s done.

She smiles to herself blissfully as she stays in position but gets down on her forearms, closing her eyes as his cum begins to drip down her thighs. They’ve both made a mess and she loves it.

She also loves the shower they’re going to take together to clean up the mess.

As he helps wash her hair and lather up her back, she thinks she’s the luckiest girl in the world. Jughead’s always looked after her, it’s the way he shows his affection, and she has no doubt he’ll continue to take care of her and their child in the future. He’ll be a great dad and she’ll love watching every second of it. She’ll take care of him too.


End file.
